Tag: diy

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A Quick and Easy Footstool Makeover

Footstool makeover

Here’s a quick and easy footstool makeover for you.

Footstool makeover

Sometime last year I bought this little footstool.

Footstool Makeover

It’s hard to tell, but it has a pretty decent looking gray, linen look fabric. Nice enough, but borrring. It’s been part of the mess in the bedroom that sorta became the catch-all room. The room I need to organize so I can get to my sewing machine and maybe even put a baby bed for the granddarlings in there. I figured if I could do something with the stool and get it to a booth, that would be one less thing to step over in that room. I could have left it as is, but it just seemed to need something… more. That “more” became a stencil.

Using some plain ol’ contact paper from Dollar General that I had lined a drawer with and my trusty Silhouette Cameo (ad) – I’m always looking for a reason to use the Silhouette – I cut out No. 21 in Tirani Solid LET font. I really have no idea if that’s a font I’ve downloaded or if it came with the Silhouette software. But it’s pretty. And exactly what I was looking for.

Footstool makeover

Then, using a small, stiff, stencil brush, I dabbed on Martha Stewart’s Multi-Surface Satin craft paint (ad) in Wedding Cake white. When you stencil something, always use an up and down motion. Never a brush stroke. Unless you want a brush stroke look. There are always exceptions to the rules.

Martha Stewart multi surface paint

It actually turned out pretty cute.

Footstool makeover

If no one wants to buy it like this, then I can recover it later. But for now, it’s outta my way. And that’s a good thing.

Footstool makeover

For the life of me I couldn’t find a good spot in the house to take a picture! It just didn’t look right anywhere.:-(

Footstool makeover

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Pastel Dyed Bottle Brush Trees For the Easter Season

Dyed Bottle Brush Trees and Sheep

One of the few things I did for Christmas decorating this year was put out some bottle brush trees amongst some sheep on the pass through between the den and kitchen.

Bottle Brush Trees and Sheep

Bottle Brush Trees and Sheep

That’s how they looked until just a week or so ago. I was lazy. Didn’t put up the decora…… Oh, who am I kidding? I really left them out on purpose, considering them winter decorations with intentions to dye them for Easter. (Giggle, snort, giggle.) Whatever. Anyway, I did it! Completed the whole project. Bleached, dyed and arranged.

There are a gazillion tutorials on bleaching and dying bottle brush trees out there and I won’t repeat all that, but will tell you what I learned. Mainly, do not… DO NOT… leave them in the bleach too long.

I had a big tub filled with bleach, dumped all the trees in and left them. Left them at least 30 minutes, maybe even an hour. That much time wasn’t needed for the bleaching process and it took all the “sizing” out of the branches.

Bleached and limp bottle brush trees

The comment was made that they looked like they’d been through a hurricane. Hrmph. I was hoping I’d be able to tell how easy it was to get them back to normal, but alas, that tale will ne’re be told. I couldn’t. I managed to shape them a bit better, but they’re still messy. I’m OK with the finished look, but our son’s coming up in a few days for a visit and I’m sure he’ll make fun of them. Oh, well.

Dyed Bottle Brush Trees and Sheep

I dyed them with food coloring. The color didn’t take evenly, but that’s OK, too. I tried adding vinegar to the food coloring first, and forgot to add it when I changed to a different color. It didn’t seem to make any difference, so I just left the vinegar out from then on.

Dyed Bottle Brush Trees and Sheep

Dyed Bottle Brush Trees and Sheep

Dyed Bottle Brush Trees and Sheep

Dyed Bottle Brush Trees and Sheep

Dyed Bottle Brush Trees and Sheep

~~~~~

So where have I been the past few weeks? Oh, here, there, nowhere… Had a horrible sinus infection that had me down a few days. Spent a good bit of time getting the estate sale ready that was mentioned in the previous post. Had a couple of my daughter’s baby showers to attend. And frankly, didn’t have a thing in the world to blog about! But the big news of the moment is that our very first grand-darling will be born in the next couple of days! There will soon be a nursery decor post to go along with pictures of what will undoubtedly be the most beautiful child in the world! (Insert big, silly grin here.)

So see ya later gators!

Wanda